


Without Missing A Beat

by LunaScriptor



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: First Meetings, Fluff, Inspired by Twitter, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:20:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22604605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaScriptor/pseuds/LunaScriptor
Summary: Tony is exhausted and just wants a coffee. Instead, he has to deal with a love confession from a stranger.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Comments: 19
Kudos: 237





	1. Meet Cute

**Author's Note:**

> written in response to a tweet from @buckytonyownsme

Tony Stark is always in control. He's cool and collected with a razor sharp tongue. He never slips up. Never cracks. He graces the covers of magazines in designer suits and a press perfect smirk. He is unshakeable.

Tony Stark is currently exhausted. 

He's been working in his lab for three days straight on his newest project. He would still be working if he hadn't ran out of coffee. Or someone hid it. He wouldn't put it past Jarvis and Dum-E to conspire against him. 

Seeking fuel, he made his way to the nearest coffee shop. Shuffling off to the side after ordering his horrifyingly caffeinated drink, Tony doesn't really notice the person beside him until he speaks. 

"I love you." 

Tony snorts. He's heard that before. In many different ways. Sometimes it was flattering. Mostly it was annoying or downright creepy. Unfortunately for the stranger, he's too tired to be nice today. 

He turns his head and opens his mouth to tell the guy off but ends up going slack jawed. He has to tilt his head up just to see the man's face. He wasn't looking at Tony but smiling shyly at the counter. Tony feels like he's melting. He wants to run his hands over the man's broad shoulders. To curl his fingers in his long, dark hair. To steal the well-wore leather jacket he's wearing and refuse to give it back until it stopped smelling like the gorgeous stranger. 

He decides that he can be nice after all. "I love you too," he says firmly. He can't take his eyes off of the man.

Which is why he catches the man’s pause before he looks down at Tony in confusion. He doesn't respond though. Tony frowns. He was expecting something more...grandiose. Less awkward. But they're just staring at each other. Tony opens his mouth to say something - anything to break the silence - when his gaze drifts to the prosthetic hand holding a cellphone to the stranger's ear. The man's lips slowly curl into a pleased smirk. 

"Mom, I'm gonna have to call you back," he says before lowering the phone. 

Tony feels his face heating up and he's half a second from booking it out of the shop. Coffee and exhaustion be damned. His eyes find the exit but before he can make his escape, a large hand touches his arm in a barely there graze. Tony's eyes snap back up to the stranger. 

He's smiling softly now. "Hi. Bucky Barnes. Want to grab a coffee with me?"


	2. Winking With Both Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is certain he’s in love. Pepper has concerns.

When Tony had told the story of how he met the love of his life, Pepper had been less than impressed. Of course, he had called her to tell her the wonderful news all of thirty seconds after he was sure Bucky was out of earshot after they finished their impromptu date at the cafe. Pepper, in Tony’s opinion, was not a romantic. Instead of congratulating him, she asked him when he last slept and demanded he go straight to bed.

He did. 

The next day, however, he was just as adamant that he was as much in love with Bucky as he had been the day before. Tony thought spending three hours just talking was an amazing way to start a relationship. Pepper argued that spending three hours together was not enough for Tony to be gushing over this guy like the lead in a bad romcom. 

“You don’t even know who this guy is, Tony.”

“So? That’s what dating is for!”

Pepper made a tired sound that Tony heard far too often. It was the sound she made when she felt like he wasn’t thinking something through. It held so much judgement for such a small sound. Tony frowned as he looked down at his phone. Pepper was usually right when she made it. He tapped at the glass. The lock screen brightened then darkened again in rapid succession. 

Until it started ringing. 

Tony nearly dropped his phone when Bucky’s name appeared on the screen. He was calling. He was requesting a video chat! Tony looked at Pepper with wide eyes filled with hope and his friend softened slightly. It was obvious that he liked this man way too much. She watched as Tony accepted the call. The screen filling with a handsome man who perked up when he saw Tony’s face.

Bucky grinned at the camera. He was clearly sitting on his bed and wearing a tank top that showed off those shoulders that Tony still hadn’t gotten his hands on. Tony’s eyes automatically moving to his prosthetic. He had managed to not be too nosy the day before because it didn’t bother him. He just hadn’t realized how high up it went. 

“I heard you like bad boys,” Bucky said, startling Tony out of his thoughts about how well the prosthetic moved. It was Stark brand, after all. 

Tony frowned. “What? Oh… Um yeah, but-“

“Well, I'm bad. At everything.”

Tony raised an eyebrow at Bucky as the man grinned a little wider and squeezed both eyes shut. Tony looked over his shoulder at Pepper. She had her fingers pressed to the bridge of her nose in an all too familiar manner. 

“I take it back. He’s perfect for you,” was all she said before she turned and left the room. Leaving the two of them to plan their second date in private.


	3. Spaghetti Painting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony’s boyfriend’s best friend likes Tony’s best friend more than his best friend’s boyfriend!

Steve Rogers did not like Tony Stark. Tony wasn’t sure what he had done but Steve just didn’t like him. Which, to be honest, was pretty par for the course. Tony pissed off a lot of people without even trying. Most had never even met him. 

Steve was civil, at least. He talked to Tony when he had to. He only threatened him on occasion and always in defence of Bucky. He still called him ‘Stark’ which was annoying but certainly nowhere near the worst thing he had been called. Steve’s dislike of him was a mild inconvenience in the grand scheme of things. 

The fact that he and Pepper got on like a house fire was fucking infuriating.

He was pretty sure he wasn’t jealous. He just hated how easily the two of them had hit it off. He’d tried to make a good first impression when Bucky introduced them but Steve had clearly made up his mind before Tony got a single word out. He was not a fan of Tony Stark. Which would be totally fine if he wasn’t quickly becoming bffs with Pepper Potts. 

When the two had met for the first time, it had been at an art gallery. They had immediately bonded over one of the local artists and one particular painting. Neither appreciated Tony’s comment about a toddler throwing spaghetti but Bucky had laughed at least. The night had ended with the two exchanging numbers and Pepper inviting Steve to some snooty, blacktie art show the following weekend.

Tony bought Pepper the spaghetti painting.

When it arrived, she immediately called Steve. Tony bit his tongue a little too hard as they waited for the blond to arrive and help Pepper find the perfect spot to hang it in her office. At least Bucky decided to tag along so he could spend time with Tony. It softened the genius a little when his boyfriend pulled him down onto the office couch so they could cuddle while their friends muttered about lighting.

Tony laid his head on Bucky’s shoulder as he listened to Pepper and Steve. They were absolutely gushing like they hadn’t already spent most of an evening saying the exact same things. Tony didn’t understand it. Art never really clicked with him. He didn’t get how people could talk for hours over some red paint splattered on a canvas. 

He was a little more interested when Steve told the story of the first time he saw a Rembrandt. Tony made a mental note to buy him one, maybe even the specific one he saw, since it had apparently changed his life.

“Have you ever seen something that changed your life?” Tony asked Bucky idly. He was playing with Bucky's fingers but his eyes were locked on their friends. 

Bucky tilted his head so he could look at his boyfriend. Dark, fluffy hair sticking out in every direction and wearing the same sort of grease-stained clothes he’d been wearing when they first met.

“Yes,” he said softly, “I met you.”

Tony froze. His grip on Bucky’s hand tightening as his face grew hot. Even his ears were going red. He turned his body away as he shoved a hand back through his hair.

Bucky immediately reached out for him. “Tony... You okay, doll?”

Tony shot him a glare as he pouted. “You’re not allowed to do that… You’re not allowed to say embarrassing, sappy, ridiculous stuff like that.”

“...says the guy who said ‘I love you’ the first time we met.”

“That was different!”

Bucky laughed as he pulled Tony into a hug while waving off the confused looks from the two art fanatics across the room.


End file.
